Apple MobileMe Ready for Launch

ChannelWeb

Apple is launching its new MobileMe online services -- billed as "Exchange for the rest of us" -- on Wednesday evening Pacific time.MobileMe is the successor to Apple's existing .Mac service, which will be mostly unavailable during the launch and switchover. (Existing .Mac accounts will be moved to MobileMe automatically.) The service offers "push" IMAP e-mail service as well as automatic synchronization of calendar and contact information among Mac, PCs, iPhones, and iPod Touches.

The service also offers 20GB of online storage and a public iDisk folder for file sharing. Individual subscriptions are $99/year, with Family Packs that include 4 sub-accounts priced at $149/year.ChannelWeb

Respondents are on a roll: 53% brought their private clouds from concept to production in less than one year, and 60% ­extend their clouds across multiple datacenters. But expertise is scarce, with 51% saying acquiring skilled employees is a roadblock.